The role of a socio-integrated recycling system in implementing a circular economy – The case of Belo Horizonte, Brazil

Abstract

Waste pickers (WPs) are considered a strong suggestion to become practical mediators of the circular economy (CE) in emerging economies. This new recommendation intends to strengthen WPs’ role in household solid waste management while supporting the establishment of CE. Municipalities often do not recognize WPs as service providers and frequently discriminate against them. In such a challenging situation, could a socio-integrated recycling system with integrated WPs be a robust strategy to boost a CE? Belo Horizonte is a learning platform to answer this research question because this Brazilian city has a long-term commitment to social integration. The work applies the combination of participatory observation, multi-year material flow analysis (MFA), and structural agent analysis (SAA) to identify allocative resources, legitimation, and cultural values that are fundamental to operationalizing CE. The MFA results show a significant increase in waste generation, but not more than 4% of recyclable waste generated could be collected as input for WP cooperatives. The number of WPs registered in cooperatives, the market price of recyclables, and regulatory legislation for packaging products are classified as barriers for the successful extension of a socio-integrated recycling system identified in the SAA. This study suggests that knowing the target group (e.g., city hall and industries) brings opportunities for WPs to disclose niches (based on a small network of agents with expectations and visions) and can potentially create socio-technical regimes to implement a conscious and sustainable CE.